Second Chances
by SonOfHades96
Summary: Kira Abraham has always been protective of her little cousin Jeff, so it was only right that she saw him off on his Pokémon journey. Little did she know, Jeff wouldn't be going on his journey alone. Fist Pokémon story. Please enjoy.


The view from the helicopter was breathtaking _._ From up so high, we could see for miles. The trees appeared to be nothing but shrubs and homes were like tiny boxes sprawled across the countryside. Directly below us, a river flowed nice and gentle. I had always believed that the Johto region was far more beautiful than my home region of Kanto and this aerial view just confirmed it was true.

 _This is the life_ , I thought to myself as the wind blew through my hair. There was something about being 30,000 feet above the ground that just felt right to me. That and the fact that it had been months since I'd experienced something besides my uncle's apartment in Blackthorn City. Sure, city life was great and all but it was nice to finally have a change in setting.

We were on our way to New Bark Town because today was the day that my little cousin Jeff would be obtaining his first Pokémon from Professor Elm and begin his Pokémon journey. Professor Elm was the only person in Johto licensed to give out Pokémon Trainer's licenses so we had to venture all the way to New Bark in order to get one. Of course, I wasn't complaining. Like I said, the change of pace was very much welcomed. Jeff, on the other hand, was having a pretty tough time.

"Kira are we almost there? I want to get off this thing!" he wailed.

Jeff had been complaining the entire time. Although he was super pumped to begin his journey, he had a mild fear of heights. Actually, he had a major fear of heights. And also bugs, the dark, the ocean, pretty girls, and yeah, pretty much everything. It was hard to blame him for it, though. Jeff was pretty small for his age and he had never really had many friends growing up. I was hoped that getting his first Pokémon would help him with some of his confidence issues. At the very least, he'd have a friend.

"Come on, Jeff. If you want to be a great Pokémon trainer, you've got to be absolutely fearless. Otherwise, other trainers are going to walk all over you. You have to—"

"Like you would know!" He snapped. "You're the one who gave up on being a trainer! Oops."

Jeff put a hand over his mouth and averted my gaze.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean it."

His words, although I knew he hadn't meant to be harsh, cut through me like a blade. He was right. I _had_ given up on being a trainer.

It had now been six years since I had quit my own Pokémon journey. Back when I still lived in Kanto, I too had dreams of one day becoming a Pokémon Master. I was such a cocky kid back then that I overestimated just how hard that would actually be. After several strings of failure, I released my Bulbasaur into the wild and called it quits. That was it for my Pokémon journey.

I had never told this story to anyone, not even my parents. To this day, they still believed that I had quit Pokémon training because I had lost interest in Pokémon. The truth is that every time I thought about Sammy, my Bulbasaur, I could not help but tear up a bit. Sometimes, I still thought about what might have happened to Sammy. My hope was that he found a new trainer. Someone who raised it right and gave him the dedication he deserved. Who knows? Maybe Sammy was a giant Venusaur by now.

"It's alright," I said to Jeff, trying my best to push the thought away. "Today is your big day. That's all that matters." This seemed to make him fell a little better.

Ever since I had moved in with my aunt and uncle, Jeff and I had been inseparable. Like I said, he's really small and since my uncle was always so busy with his business and my aunt worked late nights at the local hospital, we spent quite a lot of time together. We were as close as two cousins could be, which is why my aunt and uncle thought it was a good idea that I tag along on this trip. It was only right that I saw him off on his big journey.

Before we left, I had made a promise to myself that no matter what I did, I would make sure that Jeff got to live out his dream. I would not allow him make the same mistakes that I did.

We flew for a few more minutes in silence. I knew that Jeff hadn't meant to hurt my feelings with his comment, so I was able to brush it off, but he was someone who had a hard time letting go of guilt. Jeff was a sensitive boy with a good heart, which is why I knew he would make an awesome trainer. He had so much potential but he could never quite see it in himself. I really hoped that one day he would learn to trust in his own inner strength and succeed where I had failed.

I flashed a smile his way to let him know it was all good. He looked at me for a quick second before looking away, obviously still a little upset.

"Which one are you gonna get?" I finally asked after a few more minutes of awkward silence. My comment seemed to catch him by surprise, almost as though I had interrupted him in the midst of some deep thinking.

"Huh?"

"Which one are you gonna get? Of the three starters?"

"That's what I was just thinking about," he said, pushing his big round glasses back. "I honestly have no idea."

"That's Ok," I said, inching closer to him. "We've got a little while before we reach New Bark. You wanna talk it out?"

He smiled big. Jeff loved talking about all things Pokémon, especially anything related to battling and strategy. I knew that if I wanted to lift his spirits, all I had to do was change the subject to none other than his favorite topic.

"Well you see, Totodile is pretty cool. It's a water type so it'll be really good against fire and rock types. On the other hand, it is weak to grass and electric types. But then you've got Cyndiquil who does really well against grass types, but is weak to water and ground types. The there's Chikorita, the grass type. It's easy to raise and has the advantage against water and rock types. It's really a tough decision."

"Wow. You always amaze me with your Pokémon knowledge," I said. This made him laugh nervously.

"I guess I do know a little bit, he said. That was one of the many things that mad Jeff great. He was very humble.

"Maybe you should base your decision on what gym you want to hit up first. Or maybe you should decide based on chance. Like a flip a coin or something. Whatever you decide, I'm sure it'll be a great—"

My motivational speech was cut short by the pilot. He hadn't said a single word since we lifted off, so it caught Jeff and I off guard.

"Get ready guys, we'll be landing just outside of New Bark Town in just a few minutes," he said.

Jeff and I instantly pressed our heads against the window as the helicopter began its descent. Down below we could make out a small town surrounded by a thick forest.

"This is...different," Jeff said.

Different was right. All the homes appeared to be single family homes, a sharp contrast to the towering edifices of Blackthorn City. I wouldn't have been surprised is New Bark had a total population of less than a thousand. Still, I marveled at the sight. Despite its size, New Bark was very beautiful. Especially from this vantage point.

"Why are we landing in the middle of the forest?" Jeff asked suddenly. I had been marveling at the beautiful little town for so long that I didn't realize that we were descending right past it.

"You see, New Bark is such small town that there's actually no place for us to land," said the pilot. "Your father arranged for us to land in a clearing just outside the town. Don't worry, he has also arranged transportation for you both."

As soon as we got off the helicopter we were greeted by a woman wearing a white lab coat over a nice little black dress. She looked pretty young—maybe in her early twenties. Her hair was a dark flaming red and she had warm, welcoming smile. She stood waving at us next to silver Jeep.

"Hello! You must be the Abrahams! My name is Hollie Reynolds. I work in Professor Elm's lab and I have been instructed to take you there."

Hollie was a lot prettier up close. Her eyes were the color of freshly cut grass and her teeth were absolutely perfect. I'm sure they looked the way mine would've if I just stopped eating so much candy. I couldn't help it, though. Sugar was my weakness.

"Hey there," I said. "I'm Kira and this is my little cousin, Jeff."

"Nice to meet you," said Jeff nervously. Pretty girls like Hollie always brought out the nerves in him.

"The pleasure is all mine. Now, if you will follow me into the car, we'll be at the lab in no time. You must be exhausted after such a long flight."

The ride through the forest was bumpy, but I enjoyed it very much. We saw a bunch of cool Pokémon along the way and Hollie was able to tell us about each and every one of them. It was interesting because if it weren't for the lab coat, you'd have no idea that this girl worked in a lab. Everything about her just screamed movie star. She really knew her stuff, though. Listening to her talk about Pokemon was so fascinating. She was even teaching Jeff a few things and that kid knew everything there is to know about Pokémon.

Professor Elm's lab was by far the biggest building in New Bark. Hollie parked the Jeep around back and we all hopped out.

"Here we are!" Hollie exclaimed proudly. "Professor Elm's Pokémon Lab!"

Jeff and I could not help but stare in amazement. It was truly a magnificent work of architecture and it seemed Hollie could tell we were astonished.

"Just wait until you see the inside," she said, walking ahead of us. Jeff and I looked at each other and smiled big before following her.

"This is a state of the art facility. Professor Elm makes sure to keep all his lab equipment up to date," Hollie said. She led us through a series of long hallways. Rooms with glass doors aligned on each side. Many of the rooms were empty but each one housed some pretty impressive lab equipment. Occasionally , we would pass rooms occupied by people in white lab coats like Hollie's. They all looked extremely busy. Some of them were interacting with a Pokémon.

After walking for a couple more minutes, we finally reached Professor Elm's office. The door was open so we followed Hollie right in. Professor Elm was sitting on top of his desk talking to two young kids when walked in, which stunned me because I had imagined to be a very serious scientist. The way he sat so casually on top of his desk caught me by surprise.

The boy and the girl sat with their backs to us, but they both turned as we walked in. I assumed that they were also here to receive their first Pokémon.

"Professor Elm, sorry to interrupt. I've brought the last new trainer for the day," said Hollie. Professor Elm chuckled softly.

"No worries, Hollie. We were just having a little chat regarding battling strategies" Professor Elm said. "Thank you for bringing them in."

So this was the world famous Professor Elm. I had read about him before, but this was my first time ever meeting him in person. He looked fairly young to be a professor. There were a few grey streaks in his spiky brown hair but that was about it. His glasses also gave him a more youthful appearance.

He hopped down from his desk and approached us.

"You must be Kira," he beckoned to me. "And you must be Jeff."

He turned and motioned towards the two young kids sitting in front of his desk.

"Jeff, I have some people I want you meet. These two are also here to get their first Pokémon and begin their journey, just like you."

The boy got up first. He smiled really big and pointed to himself confidently.

"I'm McLane. Nice to meet you."

He was a head or so taller than Jeff, but I could tell they were around the same age. He had shaggy brown hair and big brown eyes. He was wearing a bright red T-shirt and black shorts. At first glance, he came across as a bit brash but there was genuineness to him that I liked. He reminded me a lot of myself at his age.

"The name's Ava," the girl said, without getting up.

Her shoulders were crossed defiantly. There was something cold about the look in her icy blue eyes. She had jet black hair that came down to her shoulders. She was also wearing an all black outfit: black shirt, distressed black jeans and black combat boots.

"I'm Jeff," Jeff said, trying his best not to sound nervous. I knew him way too well, though.

"Yeah and I'm his big cousin, Kira," I said, trying to lighten things up. I ruffled up Jeff's hair playfully but he blushed and pushed my hand away.

"Alright, lets get started shall we?" Professor Elm said with a smile. He walked over to a large machine at the back of his office and pressed a button. I had seen this type of machine before. Professor Oak had a similar one in his lab in Kanto. The machine lit up and produced a blinding white flash. All of us covered our eyes as the light faded. On a dish underneath the machine appeared three red Pokeballs.

"As you know, the three starter Pokémon for trainers in the Johto region are Cyndiquil, Totodile and Chikorita. Each of these Pokeballs contains one of the three starters. If you look closely, I have placed a sticker on each ball to indicate which Pokémon is inside. I'm sure it will be pretty self-explanatory."

I looked over at Jeff. He was listening very intently.

"Because there are only three Pokémon, you each have to chose one. Now, since McLane was the first to arrive, he gets first pick," said Professor Elm.

"That's easy. I know exactly who I want."

McLane walked over to the machine and picked up the middle ball with the red sticker. "I choose Cyndiquil."

"Excellent choice, McLane. Next up, Ava."

Ava walked over to the machine and looked at the two remaining Pokeballs for a second before settling for the one on the right.

"My first Pokémon will be the water Pokémon, Totodile," she said.

"Another fine choice. That means Chikorita belongs to you, Jeff."

Jeff hesitated for a second before approaching and picking up the remaining Pokeball. He examined it closely.

"Good job, kid!" I whispered as he made his way back to where I was standing.

"Alright guys! Now that you each have your Pokémon, why don't you all bring them out and say hello?" Hollie suggested.

"Good idea, Hollie," agreed Professor Elm.

"Sounds good to me. Cyndiquil, come on out!" McLane launched his pokeball into the air where it opened and produced a small Cyndiquil in a beam of red light. Cyndiquil looked up at his new owner and grunted happily.

Ava followed up and released her brand new Totodile. It gazed up at her and growled softly. Ava smiled for the first time and patted it on his head. _So she does have feelings_ , I thought.

Jeff followed suit and released his Chikorita. I gasped when I saw it. Normally Chikoritas are a bright green color with the leaf on its head slightly darker than the rest of it. This one was different. Instead of bright green, it's body was a yellowish color and the leaf on its head was a rusty color. I had never seen one like it before.

"What kind of Chikorita is that?" I asked.

It jumped into Jeff's arm and began to nuzzle a his chest, making him laugh.

"This Chikorita is quite special," Professor Elm explained. "A Chikorita this color only occurs about once in every ten thousand births or so. Lucky for you it was the last Chikorita we had."

"That's so awesome, dude. Congrats," said McLane.

"Thanks," Jeff replied shyly.

Next Professor Elm handed each new trainer a bright red device, a Pokédex.

"Your Pokédex doubles as your trainer ID and digital Pokémon encyclopedia. When you encounter Pokémon in the wild, you can use it to get extensive information on it," Professor Elm explained.

Both McLane and Ava were paying close attention. I glanced over at Jeff who was staring at the Pokeball that contained his Chikorita. It was very unlike him. He seemed troubled so I pulled him aside for a second.

"What's going on, buddy?" I asked.

He hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Kira, what if I am not cut out to be a Pokémon Trainer? What if I'm making a huge mistake?"

I smiled and placed my hand on his shoulder.

"Jeff, when I was your age I had the opposite feeling. I got my first Pokemon and thought that nothing could ever hold me back. And then I got out there and I failed miserably."

"You know, you're not making me feel any better here," Jeff said.

"I'm not finished, Ok? I was devastated. I never really told anyone about this because I am so embarrassed by it but I quit because I was afraid. I kept losing and losing and finally I just gave up. I abandoned my Pokémon and ran because I was too afraid to try. And I regret that decision so much."

I couldn't help but tear up as I said this. Revisiting my brief tenure as a trainer was too much for me, but I knew that Jeff had to hear it so that he would not make the same mistake.

"I'm so sorry, Kira. I didn't know any of that," Jeff said.

I wiped the tears from my eyes and tried my best to smile.

"It's fine, Jeff. What I want you to know is that failure is part of the process of becoming a great trainer. All great trainers have to deal with it and only the very best trainers can overcome it. But not before suffering through quite a few of them. I only wish that I had realized it way back then."

"So you're saying that even if I fail, it's Ok?"

"Yes, Jeff. You can expect to lose every now and again. That's the only way that you become stronger. You shouldn't let that hold you back."

Jeff nodded. "You're right," he said, looking at his Pokeball. "I can't be afraid to lose."

"That's right," I said, ruffling his hair. This time, he didn't push my hand away.

Once we got through all the tutorials, Professor Elm announced that he was behind on some research and had to check in with some of his aides. He congratulated the three new trainers once again before leaving us with Hollie.

"Alright guys, that's a wrap! Please follow me to the exit," Hollie said. As we followed behind Hollie, McLane came over to talk with Jeff.

"That really is a sick Chikorita you got," he said. "Maybe one day we can battle and I can see it in action."

"Yeah for sure," Jeff said.

"What are you gonna name it?" McLane asked.

"I haven't decided on a name yet," Jeff admitted.

"That's cool. It'll come to you eventually. I decided to name my Cyndiquil Helios, like the sun god. I figured it fits because Cyndiquil is a fire Pokémon."

"That's is a cool name," I interjected. "Very creative."

"Thanks" he replied.

Outside, we were greeted by a bunch of people. This was obviously the McLane camp. They chanted his name and his name and held up giant posters with his name and face on them. One of the signs read, "New Bark's Next Champion." _So he's a local kid_ , I thought.

"I'll see you around, Jeff," he said, waving At us as he went off to join his fan club. I had to hand it to him. He had quite the support network.

Ava was picked up by a man who must have been her grandfather. He had the same icy blue eyes but his hair was white and his face showed signs of a great age. Ava didn't even look back as she hopped in the passenger seat of his car and drove off. It was quite the contrast to McLane's mob.

"So what do you think of your new rivals?" I asked Jeff once everyone had cleared out.

"McLane is so cool. He's gonna be a great trainer. Ava seems really tough too. I really got my work cut out for me."

"You got that right. Those two seem like they're gonna be tough competition," I said.

Just then, Jeff got real quiet, like the way he does when he's deep in thought.

"What's up?" I asked.

"I just wish you could come with me," he said. "I would rather start my journey with you."

This made me feel all tingly inside. I smiled at Jeff and embraced him in a big hug.

"Aww Jeff. You're so sweet." I could tell that I was squishing him and that he was a little uncomfortable but I didn't care.

"I would love to come with you, Jeff. But this is your journey, not mine. I made my decision years ago and although I regret it, there's no going back."

"Says who?" We were interrupted by Hollie's voice. We turned around and there she was with Professor Elm holding a large object in her hand. She was smiling really big.

"I hope you forgive me, but I overheard your conversation earlier about your Pokémon journey and I was absolutely touched," she said.

All I could do was stare blankly. _She heard me? Oh no! That story was supposed to be a secret!_

"Hollie told me all about it and we decided that everyone deserves a second chance. Unfortunately I don't have anymore Pokémon available today, but I do have is this here Pokémon egg," Professor Elm said, in reference to the large object Hollie was holding.

Looking closely, I now saw that it was an egg incubator and inside was a large black and orange Pokémon egg. I was speechless.

"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself, Kira. Sometimes trainers make mistakes and that's perfectly Ok" Hollie said, as she handed me the incubator. "When this Pokémon hatches, you can become a trainer once again."

Although I now had the incubator in my arms, I still felt like I didn't deserve it. Not after what had happened with Sammy.

"I cant accept this," I said, tears rolling down my face. "I don't deserve it."

"Sure you do!" Jeff said. He said it with so much authority that for a minute I didn't know who had said it. I looked over at him. He had the most assured look I had ever seen on him. "You said it yourself. You regret what you did and you wish you could start over. Well now's your chance!"

"Jeff is right, Kira. Im sure you've learned quite a bit since then. Besides, it's never too late to be a Pokémon Trainer," said Professor Elm.

"But—"

"But nothing. You take that Pokémon egg and you raise whatever Pokémon is inside that egg to the best of you ability," said Hollie. She said this assertively but still managed to maintain her joyful attitude.

Maybe they were right. Maybe I could give this whole trainer thing another go. I just couldn't stop thinking about Sammy. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"Ok fine," I said, finally. "I'll do it."

"Really? Alright!" Jeff exclaimed.

"What kind of Pokémon is it anyway, Professor?" I asked, rubbing the incubator. It was very warm.

Professor Elm laughed sheepishly.

"Well, you see, we had a bit of a mix up in the nursery. One of my aides mistakenly switched out all the labels and now I have no idea what Pokemon lies inside that egg."

"It would be a great help to our research if you hatched this egg and reported back to us what hatched," Hollie added, handing me my own Pokédex and pokéballs.

"Regardless or what's inside, I'm sure you'll do a great job raising it," Professor Elm beamed.

As he said this, one of the pockets in his lab coat began to vibrate.

"I have to take this. Hollie will take you guys to wherever you need to go. So long!" And with that Professor Elm scurried back inside the lab.

I could hardly believe it. After all these years I was actually going to give being a trainer one more shot. Even inside my head the thought seemed insane, but there I was holding a Pokémon egg in one arm and a Pokédex and some pokéballs in the other. Still, I could not shake away the tiny sliver of doubt and immense guilt in the back of my head.

Hollie gave us a lift to the edge of town where civilization gave way to the forest.

"Good luck on your journey, you guys. I wish you all the best," she said as we exited her Jeep.

Jeff and I thanked her. She gave us one last smile before turning the key and started up the car. She waved back at us as she drove off.

"Wow, I cant believe it. I'm officially a Pokémon trainer" Jeff said, staring at the pokéball that contained his Chikorita.

"You and I both, kid," I said as I rubbed on my incubator.

"What are you gonna name it?" Jeff asked.

"I don't know. I don't even know what kind of Pokémon it is."

"Well I decided what I'm gonna name Chikorita," Jeff said with a smile.

"Oh yeah? What you got?"

"Im gonna name him Journey. That way every time we battle, I'll always remember that he was the one who go it all started for me."

"That's very cool," I said.

"Yeah! As a matter of fact—" he tossed his pokéball in the air.

Chikorita appeared before us in a flash of red light. It hopped about happily.

"From this day forward, you're name is Journey. How you like it?" Jeff asked.

Journey squealed, obviously in love with his new name. Jeff and I both laughed.

"So Kira, where are we heading first?"

"Hmm. Do you still have that map uncle Dave gave you before we left?"

"Yeah it's in my backpack." Jeff rummaged through his backpack and produced the giant map of the Johto region.

"It seems that next closest town is Cherrygrove City. I've never been there before, but it's about a couple of days west of here," I said.

"Well then that's where we're going!" Jeff exclaimed. " Journey are your ready to go?"

Journey did a little hop and let out a high pitched squeak.

"I'm gonna need you to hold my incubator in your bag, though. Remember, I was supposed to head back to Blackthorn after this, so I don't have any traveling equipment."

As I said this, I realized that Jeff was the only one with a sleeping bag and supplies. I groaned.

"Don't worry Kira. I'm sure dad will send us some supplies if we give him a call. Plus you've got to tell my parents that you'll be joining me on my journey! I'm really glad you're coming with me."

"Thanks Jeff. That means a lot. I can't think of anyone else I'd like to start my second journey with." Jeff smiled and with that we began our trek through the forest with Journey leading the way.

I had absolutely no idea what to expect, but I knew that this time around would be different.

 _Sammy, if you're out there, I am so sorry_ , I thought. _I know I can't go back and change the past but I'm going to make it up to you by raising whatever Pokémon to be the very best!_


End file.
